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Richmond Gardonn
Richmond Gardonn is an Alorian politician who served as President of the Democratic Republic of Aloria from 2922 to 2926. 2922 presidential campaign The Genuine Progress Alliance (GPA) was reestablished in the year 2919 after almost a decade of inactivity. Richmond Gardonn served as the party leader during that period and led the party in various legislative efforts in Parliament, including laws on regulated child labor and on minimal service for government workers on strike. Among the most controversial legislation that involved the GPA was its rejection of the Justice against Terrorism Act that was initiated by Justice Minister Rick Perry in 2920. The act, which aimed to impose the death penalty specifically to members of the terrorist group Alorian Nationalist League (ANL), was denounced by Gardonn as "improper, unjust, and contrary to the current law that is supposed to prohibit any form of death penalties". After the bill was defeated in Parliament, Perry led protests denouncing the GPA, along with the other parties who rejected the bill, and stated that the parties "do not give a crap about family and friends who lost a loved one because of the ANL". In March 2922, Gardonn was nominated as the presidential candidate of the party in the July 2922 presidential elections. Gardonn ran on a platform of fiscal reform and improvement of foreign relations. In May 2922, President Kyle Stone announced that he would not seek another term in office and would endorse Prime Minister Alexander Wolf of the Independent Socialist Alliance (ISA) despite the opposition of Perry, who was Stone's partymate in the People's Party (PP). The National Socialist Party (NSP) would soon follow and endorse Wolf as well. By July 2922, the election became a two-way battle between Gardonn and Wolf. Despite the huge amount of endorsements that Wolf received, Gardonn ended up winning the presidential elections with a convincing 58.20 percent of the vote. Experts believe that Gardonn's victory was due to the GPA's established support in the vote-rich provinces of Ultran and Sildar. Others also believe that a mismatch in the stances of the PP and the ISA could have led the voters to prefer Gardonn instead of Wolf even if the party had endorsed the latter. This was supported by a post-election poll that showed that over 77 percent of those who voted for the PP in Parliament voted for Gardonn instead of Wolf. Presidency Gardonn was sworn in as President on July 15, 2922. The day before he was sworn in, former President Kyle Stone was found dead in his private residence, and would eventually be a crucial issue in the Gardonn administration. Gardonn would also face opposition with the Socialist block in Parliament. Apart from that, his administration brought about changes in the fiscal situation of the country. Kyle Stone assassination Former president Kyle Stone was found dead inside his private residence on July 14, 2922 at 4:00 pm. Stone was fatally wounded with one gunshot each in the head and in his chest. At the time, officials have ruled the incident as murder and the ANL were initially suspected as the possible masterminds for the plot. During his first speech as President, Gardonn noted Stone's death and thanked him "for the things that he has done which had benefited this nation". An investigation was called on but had little progress for the first two years. The issue escalated further in the year 2924 after a massive protest was conducted against Justice Minister Rick Perry for his "lack of action" in the Stone assassination. During this time, unconfirmed reports also circulated that Perry had knowledge of a plot to kill Stone but did not take action on the threat, and that he classified the assassination as a low-profile case. Perry denied the accusation, stating that he is "is working harder than anyone to help get justice for Stone”. Gardonn ordered Perry in October 2925 to provide an update in the case. However, Gardonn also chose to have a "hands-off" stance in the case, stating that "further intervention in my part is beyond the scope of my executive powers as President." In response to Gardonn's order, Perry provided an update to the case to the media by November 2925. However, Perry did not elaborate more details on the case, citing national security reasons. This further increased calls for Perry to step down as Justice Minister. In February 2926, Alorian investigation chief Keane Maguire revealed in a heavily-guarded press conference that Perry was the mastermind of the Stone assassination. Maguire presented various evidences allegedly showing Perry negotiating with members of the ANL to kill Stone, the most shocking of which is a voice recording wherein Perry admitted his involvement in the murder. Due to the brewing controversy, Gardonn called on the minister to resign from the Justice Ministry to "spare Aloria...from being carried along in the scandals that involve him". Perry obliged not long after while maintaining his innocence from the accusations. Rift with the Independent Socialist Alliance Gardonn initially wanted to have a multi-party Cabinet that included members of the ISA, PP, NSP, Democratic Party of Aloria (DPA), and the Democratic Centrist Party (DCP). His planned Cabinet was intended to replace the interim Cabinet that he had inherited from former President Stone. However, tension arose between Gardonn and Prime Minister Alexander Wolf over the accessibility of private education in Aloria. Gardonn wanted to keep private education as a viable option for Alorian students, while Wolf preferred to prohibit it to promote "equality of education". The tension eventually spread towards other members of the ISA. As a result, four Cabinet members, including Wolf, resigned from their positions in November 2922 to protest the "privatization of education in Aloria". Due to recent events, Gardonn stepped in as the interim Prime Minister and drafted a new Cabinet proposal that excluded the ISA. Fiscal reform Under the Gardonn administration, the budget appropriations for the different executive ministries were revised but did not cause an overall increase in the budget appropriation. The most noticeable among these changes was the cut on the budget for science and technology from 11 percent to 4 percent, while transferring significant portions of the money to education and culture, food and agriculture, and environment and tourism for scientifically-related uses. The income tax system was also revised during the Gardonn presidency. Previously, middle-income and high-income earners would be taxed by 35 to 65 percent, a system which Gardonn feels is "discriminatory" to the aforementioned workers. With help from GPA lawmakers, a new income tax system was passed that decreased these tax rates into 20 to 35 percent. Though some have praised the fiscal reforms, including Finance Minister Lance Nova, some criticized the reforms since it decreased the surplus from 127 million ALO to 58 million ALO. However, Gardonn remained firm in the reforms he initiated and stated that the remaining surplus is still sufficient for the country. Return of the Red Cross One of Gardonn's most acknowledged achievements is his efforts to bring back the Red Cross in Aloria. In a speech delivered on February 2923, Gardonn stated that the Red Cross is an organization "that promotes volunteerism and goodwill among the different members of society". To bring back the Red Cross, Gardonn sought to change the foreign aid policy of the nation such that aid would be given for disaster relief instead of being in exchange for what he stated as "greedy and selfish trading rights". With the help of his GPA allies in Parliament, the policy was unanimously approved on October 2923. On November 2923, GPA members in Parliament drafted a resolution to ratify the International Committee of the Red Cross, describing it as a group that "will help foster the spirit of brotherhood, goodwill, and volunteerism among Alorians and members of the international community" and would help "promote peace in Aloria and the world". The resolution was personally sponsored by President Gardonn. In July 2924, the resolution was approved unanimously in Parliament. The treaty is still in effect to this day. State of the nation address Gardonn is credited for introducing the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in the Office of the President. Every year during his term, he would give an update on the laws passed in the last 12 months while providing Parliament with suggestions for laws to be generated. After Gardonn's term ended, however, the annual tradition of the SONA would not be continued until Yardley Barin became President. 2926 presidential campaign In March 2926, Gardonn announced that he is seeking re-election for the Presidency, citing his desire to continue his achievements during the last four years. His entry in the race came in the light of a changing political landscape in Aloria with the rise of the ISA as a viable opposition party and the re-establishment of the Democratic Coalition of Aloria (DCA) that composed of the DPA, PP, and the DCP. The 2926 presidential election saw Gardonn in a four-corner battle with Antoni Ferre of the ISA, Jason Steels of the DCA, and Oswald Charlton of the NSP. Despite having moderately high approval ratings, Gardonn lost the race in the first round of voting after landing in 3rd place with 22.37 percent of the vote. Steels eventually won the election and succeeded Gardonn in the presidency. Analysts believe that although Gardonn was perceived as a competent president, many preferred either Steels or Ferre instead since they believe that either of the two would be better Presidents than Gardonn. Others also considered his handling of the Stone assassination as a possible factor in his loss in the election. Post-presidency After stepping down from the presidency, Gardonn served as a key official in the Red Cross, eventually becoming its national Chairman. He supervised the humanitarian efforts of the organizations in national and international disasters. Category:Aloria Category:Presidents of Aloria Category:Genuine Progress Alliance politicians Category:Alorian politicians